Academics Who Want DEI In Med Schools Dodge And Weave When Pro-Merit Doctor Says Its A Political Agenda

Members of academic medicine gathered in Florida on Friday to debate whether diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) — or whatever name people decide to call it — should play a role in medical school admissions.

The University of South Florida in Tampa hosted a panel of four experts to share insights from their experiences with the medical school admissions process. The panel debated whether MCAT scores and academic grades should be sufficient criteria for accepting students into a program — or whether race and identity-based factors should also be taken into consideration.

“Only a third of medical school applicants are accepted each year, the criteria that should be valued is keen intellect, strong work ethic, strong moral code, and penetrating curiosity for the study of medicine,” Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, one of the debate’s speakers, said during the event. “Race and ethnicity is irrelevant, unfair, and illegal.”

Goldfarb is the founder of “Do No Harm,” a policy organization working in part to keep identity politics out of medical education, research, and clinical practice. He said diversity-centered approach to admissions is a political agenda and expressed criticism for the criteria the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) uses to select medical school candidates.

Factors that are considered as part of AAMC’s “holistic” approach to selecting applicants include citizenship, distance travelled, relationship status, involvement in cultural events, and sexual orientation, according to its Roadmap to Diversity.

Throughout the debate, other participants steered the conversation away from the idea that some med-school applicants have been favored over others because of their race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation.